- The Department of Justice filed an extraordinary lawsuit seeking to block the state of Alaska from certifying the winner of its upcoming U.S. Senate election in the event that incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses.
- The lawsuit cites what it suggests is likely voter confusion from having another candidate, Daniel Sullivan, on the ballot in the race.
The Department of Justice filed an extraordinary lawsuit seeking to block Alaska from certifying the winner of its upcoming U.S. Senate election if incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday, cites what it suggests is likely voter confusion from having another Republican candidate, named Daniel J. Sullivan, on the ballot in the race, and the chance that could help Democratic nominee Mary Peltola win what is expected to be a close election with the incumbent senator.
US President Donald Trump, left, and Senator Dan Sullivan, a Republican from Alaska, during a campaign event in Wasilla, Alaska, US, on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. Nathaniel Wilder | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesThe Alaska race is one of several Senate contests around the United States that could determine whether Republicans retain their slim majority in the upper chamber of Congress. Alaska's general election for the Senate is conducted by ranked-choice voting. Voters rank their candidates in order of preference.
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"Should Alaska certify any electoral results tainted by the inclusion on the ballot of Daniel J. Sullivan — whose candidacy, Defendant Beecher [Alaska Elections Director Carol Beecher] found, is 'for the purpose of confusing or misleading voters and compromising the fairness of the ballot' — the State and its officers will fail in its obligation to protect the integrity of its election," the suit in U.S. District Court in Alaska says.
"The United States accordingly brings this lawsuit to protect the integrity of the 2026 Senate election in Alaska," the suit says.
The DOJ's lawsuit says that "the sole purpose" of the candidacy of Daniel J. Sullivan "is to benefit the Peltola campaign by reducing the number of votes for Senator Sullivan." The suit says Daniel J. Sullivan decided to run as a Republican "with the intention of misleading supporters of Senator Sullivan into voting for him."
State of Alaska Official Ballot for the November 3, 2026 General Election.Source: Department of JusticeDaniel J. Sullivan received just 2.5% of the vote in Alaska's open primary on Aug. 28, but that was enough to win him one of four spots on the Senate general election ballot.
Peltola got 49.5% in the primary, and Sen. Sullivan received 41.1%. A third Republican, Gerald Heikes, received just 1.1% of the primary vote, earning him the fourth spot on the ballot.
In its suit, the DOJ said, "Daniel J. Sullivan's presence on the ballot threatens to mislead Alaskan
citizens who want to vote for Senator Sullivan."
"For example, some supporters of Senator Sullivan likely will inadvertently vote for Daniel J. Sullivan," the suit says.
"Other supporters of Senator Sullivan likely will be confused as to how to rank the three Republican candidates as to defeat Peltola. They might not rank Senator Sullivan at all, resulting in votes for Daniel J. Sullivan to be transferred to Peltola after Daniel J. Sullivan's all-but-guaranteed elimination in the first or second round of tabulations."
The suit asks a judge to declare that "certification of any result that may be impacted by voter
confusion" would violate the as defined above, would violate Alaska's and its election officials' duties under the National Voter Registration Act "to protect the integrity of the electoral process.
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter rates the Alaska Senate race as one of seven "toss-up" contests for that chamber.
FiftyPlusOne's average of polling in the race shows Peltola, the former U.S. House member from Alaska, with a narrow two-point lead over Sullivan.
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